Rolling mill coupling



Nov. 10, 1959 Filed April 12, 1956 J. w. O'BRIEN ROLLING MILL COUPLING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 U11 -J5f i T i i MAN, INVENTOR.

Hrs ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q. ww zo Fuuw J. W. O'BRIEN ROLLING MILL COUPLING Nov. 10, 1959 Filed April 12, 1956 INVEN0R. JEREMIAH PV. 0 BRIE}! 1711s ATTORNEY United States Patent ROLLING MILL COUPLING Jeremiah W. OBrien, Pleasant Hills, Pa., assignor to United Engineering and Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 12, 1956, Serial No. 577,744

8 Claims. (Cl. 64-7) This invention relates to apparatus for driving the rolls of a rolling mill and in particular to the couplings interposed between the driving means and the rolls in which there are provided supporting means adapted to be placed in position to engage with the female roll-neck engaging coupling member, pivotally connected to the spindle, for maintaining the member in axial alignment with the spindle when the coupling is disconnected from the roll neck at the time, for example, when one or more rolls or even the entire mill is being removed.

In those cases where customarily employed coupling members are used for providing a driving connection between the rolls of a mill and the power means, no supports whatsoever have been provided for the pivotal female members when such members are disconnected from the mill roll necks so that the members immediately droop downward when disconnected from the rolls. Now, when they are to be reconnected to the mill roll necks, is is. necessary by exercising considerable effort to raise the female members the required angle in order to align the axes thereof with those of the spindles so that. the roll neck may be readily inserted in the end of the coupling member. Heretofore, for aligning the coupling members, various means have been employed, including, jacks or even a crane and it is obvious that in the employment of such means there are introduced delays and inefficiencies. In addition, when the coupling members are raised normally by the use of bars, levers or the like there is considerable danger present inasmuch as the coupling members may be caused to slip away from the holding members thereby endangering the workmen when the member swings downward. In larger mills, especially, such members have considerable size and weight so that any means employed for adjusting them should be positive and dependable.

It has also been the practice heretofore to disconnect the female members of the couplings from the couplings themselves and permit them to remain on the necks of the rolls when the rolls or mill stands are removed, thereby necessitating the maintenance of a large supply of such members. Thus, when a boot or other closure is employed for encasing each coupling, the boot or closure must be removed from each of the couplings before they can be disconnected thereby resulting in further time delay during shutdown of the mill.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of this invention to'provide means not only for disconnecting the spindles from the rolls of a mill but also for maintaining the coupling free end female member in axial alignment with the spindles while so disconnected.

It is another object of this invention to provide a supporting means adapted to be maintained in a disengaged position during the time the coupling free end member is connected to the roll neck but which automatically comes into engagement with the free end member on disengagement of such member from the roll necks.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a coupling supporting means for supporting the free end of the coupling when the drive shaft is not in engagement therewith which will be fully automatic, and relatively simple of construction and economical of maintenance and operation.

A further object of this invention is to eliminate the necessity for disconnecting the boot or closure surrounding each of the couplings when the couplings are to be disconnected from the mill rolls.

This invention further contemplates rolling mill driving spindles adapted to be withdrawn readily as a unit in a direction away from the mill thereby to disconnect the couplings thereof from the mill rolls in order to provide sufficient clearance for permitting the entire mill stand as a unit to be lifted vertically and removed from its foundation.

These objects, as well as the other novel features and advantages of this invention, will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a rolling mill driving system incorporating in one form the coupling disconnecting and supporting means herein disclosed;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial side elevation view showing the roll neck disconnected from the spindle coupling and the coupling supporting means in position for supporting the female or free end member of the coupling;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 in which there is shown the roll neck and coupling member in their engaged position and the coupling supporting means in its withdrawn or inoperative position;

Fig. 5 is a composite sectional view of the coupling taken on lines Va-Va and VbVb of Figs. 3 and 4 respectively, and

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional elevation view of the upper coupling on the motor side of the driving system.

With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown therein in combination with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention a rolling mill 11 comprising a pair of horizontally arranged rolls 12 and 13 vertically adjustable in the windows of the housings thereof which housings are affixed to a base 15 in the usual manner. Although in this particular instance a two-high mill is shown, it will be readily apparent that the present invention is equally applicable to various other mill arrangements such as three, four or more high mills. Rolls 12 and 13 are driven by separate motors, the motor 14 and its motor shaft 15a for driving the lower roll 13 being shown while only a partial showing is made of the motor shaft 16a for the top roll 12. Both motor shafts 15a and 16a.

are supported in a suitable bearing stand 17 and connected to the individual driving spindles 22 and 23 by suitable heavy mill type couplings 18. For connecting the ends of the rolls to the adjacent spindle ends and to the mill couplings l8, universal type couplings Z4 and 25' are provided at each end of the spindles, the construction of which will be more fully discussed hereinafter. As shown, the spindles 22 and 23 extend in a longitudinal direction with their axes parallel and are supported by pairs of individual parallel frames 27. The frames 27" in turn are pivotally supported and adapted to be moved vertically independently of each other on vertical movement of the rolls to which they are connected and in order to permit such action the upper frame is connected to a constant pressure piston-cylinder assembly 32 and the lower frame connected to a similar piston-cylinder assembly 33, both connections being made by means of links 34 located approximately midway between the frame ends. The piston-cylinder assemblies are provided with the necessary constant pressure, from a source not shown,

which is sufficient to balance the weight of the entire assembly when the rolls 12 and 13 are in their driving arrangement. When the rolls have been disconnected from the couplings the pressure is interrupted so that the cylinders maintain the frames in their normal parallel relationship. The ends of the frames 27 on the motor side are pivotally connected to a vertical support by individual triangular bell cranks 36 to which they are pivotally secured by pins 37 and the cranks pivotally connected to the supports 35 by pins 38. Also secured to the cranks 36 there are rods 39 on which adjustable springs 49 are mounted for positively urging the bell cranks in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 thereby maintaining a force, controlled by the usual lock nut arrangement, for maintaining the spindles and frames in such a position that the axes of the spindles are axially aligned with the motor shaft axes. It will be apparent that when the driving arrangement includes a pinion stand between the motors and spindles, the frames and bell cranks could be very conveniently mounted in a similar fashion on the pinion stand housing thereby eliminating the necessity for having the support 35.

Between the support 35 and the balance piston-cylinder assemblies 32 and 33 there are provided trusses 41 extending between the side members of each pair of frames and having surfaces parallel to the vertical inside opposed surfaces of the side members and top overhanging portions which rest on the upper surfaces of the frames for slidable movement therealong. Each of the trusses is of one-piece construction, the central portion 41a of which is recessed for receiving a bearing for supporting the respective spindles. The bearings are interlocked with the housings of the trusses and the spindles provided with enlarged diameter portions which fit into the recessed bearings thereby to prevent axial movement between the spindles and the bearings. A removable top half bearing cap 41b is provided to complete the bearing assemblies for the trusses. The trusses 41 are provided with two pairs of uniformly spaced longitudinal links 42 and 43 which extend from their opposite sides, one pair in the direction of the drive and the other pair in the direction of the mill. Two pairs of rods 44 and 45 are connected to the links 42. For the top spindle 22, the outer ends of the rods 44 are secured to a pair of arms 46 pivotally mounted on opposite ends of a trunnion shaft 47 mounted on top of the support 35. To the trunnion shaft 47 an arm 48 is keyed to which there is connected a piston-cylinder assembly 49 which is also mounted on the top of the support 35. The ends of the rods 45 in the bottom spindle arrangement are in a similar manner connected to individual arms 52 mounted on a common trunnion shaft 53 to which there is keyed an arm 54 having piston-cylinder assembly 55 connected thereto. On the actuation of the cylinders 49 and 55, the trusses 41 are moved along the frames 27 and the spindles being interlocked with the truss bearings move in a direction towards or away from the mill as the case may be.

At the mill end of the spindles, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, there are secured to the frames by suitable bolts stationary trusses 56 each comprising a two-piece segmental bearing for receiving and rotatably supporting the spindles. The ends of the frames project downwardly terminating in bosses which fit into U-shaped openings of coupling supporting members 57, both being provided with complementary openings through which pins 58 are inserted for pivotally connecting the two elements together. These coupling supporting members 57 have a rigid central cross member and extend in the direction toward the couplings 24. Their ends are in the form of two spaced prongs 59 having opposed projections 61 including openings 61a for receiving freely rotatable rollers 62, suitable pins 63 securing the rollers therein. The other ends of the coupling supporting members extend downwardly and take the form of two prongs 60 including at each of their ends vertically disposed cylindrical recmses 64 having a closed bottom with a small diameter opening 65 therein. In the recesses there are received plungers 66 having enlarged upper portions and lower stem portions which extend through the openings 65, the stems being threaded to receive suitable adjusting lock nuts 690. In engagement with the lower surfaces of the enlarged portions of the plungers and seated in the bottom of the recesses 64 there are compression springs 67 which exert a pressure upward upon the plungers, which pressure may be adjusted by means of the lock nuts. The top of the plungers 66 have slots 68 of which the bottom surfaces are shaped convexly for adapting them to engage the bottom surfaces of cam bars 69 shown in Fig. 4 to be connected to the brackets 43 of the movable trusses 41. The bars 69, arranged to move axially in guideways 70 provided in the stationary trusses 56, are retained at their top surfaces in the guides whereby their bottom surfaces are held in alignment with the slots 68 of the plungers 66. Toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 4, the cam bars 69 define a cam surface which extends downward which is sufiicient as the cam bars are moved to the right to depress the plungers 66 against the action of the springs 67 and cause the coupling supports to rise whereby the rollers 62 will come into contact with and support the coupling member 23 as shown in Fig. 3. At the extreme end of the coupling supporting members, openings are provided which correspond to openings in the stationary bearing trusses 56 into which individual bolt and spring assemblies 71 are inserted, having adjusting nuts therefor, by which means the ends of the coupling supporting members can be adjusted vertically relative to the couplings whereby in the operation of the mill, the rollers will not come in contact with the couplings.

With reference particularly to the universal type couplings 24 employed at the mill side, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the couplings 24 comprise annular driven members 72 secured to the spindles and annular driving members 73 universally connected to the member 72. The members 72 may be made as an integral part of the spindle or made separately and secured thereto by welding or otherwise. Each end of the driven member 72 is provided with axial openings 74 having spherical opposed cavities 75 through which openings 76 are formed perpendicular to the axis of the opening 74. Each driving member 73 is provided with axial openings 77 having opposed recesses 78 for receiving replaceable wear plates 79, held in place by bolts 81, which engage the flat parallel surfaces of the pods 80 of the roll neck. The other ends of each of the coupling driving members 73 are formed into a rectangular projection 82, centrally located on the longitudinal axis of the coupling member and provided with an opening 83. This projection is adapted to be inserted into the opening 74 of the coupling member 72 in which there are positioned opposed bronze slippers 84, having centrally arranged openings 85, which are secured within the cavities 75 of the driven member. The slippers, as best shown in Fig. 5, are provided with a spherical raised portion 86 which fits into complementary spherical grooves provided in the coupling cavities 75. Bushings 87 are inserted in the openings 83 of the driving members 73 and form a continuation of the raised portion of the slippers. A pin 91 is passed through each of the bushings and held in place by threaded retaining plugs 92 and 92a. The pin at the upper end is rounded so as to provide a bearing surface for engaging a rounded retainer pin 93 which is secured in an opening in the end of the plug 92. Near the opposite end of the pin 91 there is a reduction in diameter to form a shoulder 94 which engages with the adjacent surface of the slippers 84 so that it is not necessary for the plug 92a to be in engagement with the adjacent end of the pin 91. When it is desired to remove the pin 91 from the coupling, it is necessary to remove both plugs 92 and 92a and then the pin may be struck from beneath and passed through the upper opening of the coupling. Set screws 96 are provided for regulating the amount of lubricant which is supplied to the coupling from a reservoir 97 to the coupling through suitable passageways.

As shown in Fig. 6, the couplings 25 at the motor side of the spindles are somewhat different from couplings 24 just described, in that they permit the spindle to be retracted axially without affecting the driving atrangement between the couplings and the motor shafts. The motor end of each of the spindles has a driving member 101 formed as an integral part thereof including an axial opening 103 having opposed spherically shaped surfaces 103a to receive slippers 104 similar to the construction of the couplings 24. The slippers 104 are provided with spherical raised portions 104a which slide in spherical grooves formed in the coupling member. The axial opening 103 of the member 101 extends a substantial distance to provide a sufficient depth of opening for the center Web 105 of the rigid coupling 18 to extend into when the coupling spindles are moved to the right. There is a slot 106 out in the web 105 which extends approximately for the entire length of the Web. The Web or projection 105 of the motor coupling 18 engages with a pin 107 which is positioned within an opening extending through the slipper. On axial movement of the spindle, therefore, the coupling member 25 simply moves further into the slot 106 of the mill coupling 18 without affecting the driving arrangement of the two elements.

The operation of the present invention may be briefly summarized as follows: When couplings are connected to the mill rolls in driving relationship the carrier members 57 will be held out of engagement with the pivotal or female coupling members inasmuch as the lowest point of the cam bars 69 will at ths time be in engagement with the plungers 65. Now, for example, if it is desired to remove the rolls and the housings as a unit the constant pressure is interrupted in the balance pistoncylinder assemblies 32 and 33 and the air cylinder assemblies 49 and 55 are actuated to cause the movable trusses 41 to slide over the frames 27 in a direction away from the stand and toward the motors thereby retracting the spindles sufiiciently to disengage the respective couplings thereof from the ends of the rolls so that the mill stand will now be free and clear to be lifted vertically away from its foundation. During this movement the cam bars 69 are moved to the right thereby to bring their high points into engagement with the spring biased plungers 66. The displacement of the plungers causes the coupling supporting members 57 to rise so that the rollers 62 are brought up into engagement With the free pivotal coupling member 73 thereby to support these members and maintain them axially aligned with the spindles when they are disengaged from the ends of the rolls. The rolls may then be removed from the mill or, if desired, the entire mill may be removed and replaced by another. On replacement of the rolls or entire mill, as may be desired, the piston-cylinder assemblies 49 and 55 are again actuated for advancing the spindles slowly to the left toward the roll which is in alignment with the spindle axis and since the coupling members 73 are maintained in axial alignment with the spindles by the rollers 62, the couplings are readily slipped over the roll necks. It may be necessary, in some instances, to rotate the spindles slightly in order to line up the wear plates 79 of the coupling members and the pod surfaces of the roll neck and this is readily accomplished by slowly rotating the motors connected thereto. As the couplings are brought into their driving relationship with the rolls, the plunger 66 moves to the low point of the cam surface and the ends of the coupling supporting members 57 are tilted downward by the action of the springs 67 thereby to disengage the rollers 62 from the coupling members 73. Constant pressure is then again applied to the cylinder assemblies 32 and 33 for balancing the weight of the frames, spindles and associated members.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. a universal coupling for use with a rolling mill and a driving spindle comprising a driven member rigidly secured to the end of the spindle and a driving member affixed to said first-mentioned coupling member and movable angularly relative thereto, said second-mentioned coupling member operatively arranged to be connected in driving relationship to the end of a rolling mill roll, a pair of parallel frames spaced on opposite sides of said spindle. and extending in an axial direction relative thereto, a bearing slidably mounted upon said frames and secured to said spindle to prevent relative axial movement therebetween, means connected to said bearing for moving said spindle in an axial direction, a pair of cam bars connected to and movable with said bearing and extending in a direction parallel to the axis of said spindle and a member pivotally secured to the coupling ends of said frames, said member including a pair of cam followers operatively arranged to engage with said cam bars whereby on actuation of said means to disconnect and retract said spindle from the end of said roll said cam followers are displaced to engage said member with and support said driving member in axial alignment with respect to said driven member.

2. A universal coupling for use with a driving spindle comprising a driven member rigidly secured to the end of the spindle and a driving member affixed to said firstmentioned coupling member and movable angularly relative thereto, said second-mentioned coupling member operatively arranged to be connected in driving relationship to an element for imposing a torque thereon, a pair of parallel frames spaced on opposite sides of said spindle and extending in an axial direction relative thereto, means for supporting said frames, a truss slidably secured to said frames, a bearing mounted upon said truss and secured to said spindle to prevent relative axial movement therebetween, means connected to said truss for moving said truss and spindle in an axial direction, a pair of cam bars connected to and movable with said truss and extending in a direction parallel to the axis of said spindle, and a member pivotally secured to the coupling end of said frames having a pair of spaced rollers carried thereby, said member including a pair of cam followers operatively arranged to engage with said cam bars whereby on actuation of said means to disconnect and retract said spindle from said element said cam followers are displaced to bring the rollers of said member to engage with and support said driving member in axial alignment with respect to said driven member.

3. In combination with a universal coupling having a driving member and a driven member pivotally secured thereto and adapted to be connected to a rolling mill roll, apparatus for maintaining said members in axial alignment with respect to each other comprising a frame operatively connected to said driving member and means operatively connected to said frame adapted to raise said frame vertically thereby to engage and support said driven member in an axially aligned relationship with respect to said driving member.

4. A universal coupling comprising a driving member, a driven member pivotally connected to said driving member, means secured to said driving member adapted to move said driving and driven members in a substantially axial direction, separate supporting means operatively connected to said last mentioned means which on axial movement of said members in one direction is caused to engage with and support said driven member in an axially aligned relationship with respect to said driving member and on movement of said members in the opposite axial direction is disengaged from and permits said driven member to pivot freely with respect to said driving member.

5. A universal coupling according to claim 4 in which said separate means comprise a frame adapted to embrace a substantial portion of the periphery of said driven member from beneath when in supporting relationship with respect thereto.

6. A universal coupling according to claim 4 in which said separate means comprises a frame and a pair of rotary elements connected thereto and adapted to embrace a substantial portion of the periphery of said driven member from beneath when in supporting relationship with respect thereto.

7. A universal coupling according to claim 4 in which said separate means is connected to said means for moving said driving and driven members axially and is adapted to pivot in a vertical direction, means maintaining said frame in the lower of two vertical positions and yieldable on movement of said members in the first of said axial directions thereby to permit said frame to pivot upward to the higher of two vertical positions thereby to engage with and to support said driven member in an axially aligned relationship with respect to said driving member.

8. For use with a rolling mill and a spindle, a universal coupling comprising a driving member rigidly connected to said spindle, a driven member angularly movable with respect to and connected to said driving member, means for connecting said driven member to the neck of a rolling mill roll, a frame extending axially of the spindle, a coupling supporting member pivotally mounted upon said frame, means for moving said spindle and coupling members as a unit in an axial direction and a cam intermediate said coupling supporting member and said frame and so arranged and disposed wheres on axial movement of said spindle and coupling mer cers in one direction said coupling supporting member is engaged with one of the members of said coupling thereby to maintain said member in axial alignment with respect to the other of said members and on axial movement of said spindle and coupling members in the opposite direction said coupling supporting member is withdrawn from supporting relationship with respect to said coupling member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,041,772 Geer Oct. 22, 1912 1,261,548 Kennedy Apr. 2, 1918 1,496,463 Iversen June 3, 1924 1,908,307 Biggert May 9, 1933 1,950,573 Schreck Mar. 13, 1934 1,985,405 Ditges Dec. 25, 1934 2,577,508 Biggert Dec. 4, 1951 2,618,941 Iversen Nov. 25, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,941 Great Britain May 15, 1924 

